X in the City
by Branwynne77
Summary: Mutants in Sin City?
1. Chapter 1

Note: Rogue is not my characterbut I made Tom Payne up.

She woke up, wrapped up in someone's arms. Someone large and very masculine. Her skin against his skin. Rogue murmured happily then came to her senses.

She sat up in the bed, only to realize her state of undress then she blushed. Rogue pulled up the sheet. She looked down to see a man with a huge scar running down his face. Rogue thought even if he didn't have that scar, he still wouldn't be considered conventionally handsome. His hair was trimmed neatly and dark eyes appreciated her beauty. There was something reassuringly solid about him; he looked as if he came directly from the school of hard knocks.

"Good morning, gorgeous." He pulled a cigarette from a pack on the night stand.

"Who are you? Where am Ah?" Rogue asked, gazing around, clutching the sheet frantically.

"My name's Tom." He swung out of bed, wearing nothing but his briefs. His body was heavily muscular and bore signs of being stabbed, shot and there was a burn scar on his shoulder. "So I take it you don't remember last night. I'm sorry that I took advantage of you then. "

Rogue took a good look at him...silver peppered the hair at his temples. She supposed he must be in his early forties. He looked out the window and to the town laid out before him.

"It's ok. Ah really don' remembah anythin' though." She got up off the bed and touched his arm. "It's ok."

Tom turned his attention back to Rogue. "It's not my habit to take advantage of ladies." He smiled down at the Southerner. He didn't believe his luck when she came back with him, how light and hot she felt in his arms. The way she moved against the sheets...

"What's done is done, Tom." The room was not a well appointed one with about a dozen bottles of beer on the table...it had that popular lived in fashion statement. Their clothes were scattered around the room and she picked up what was tossed off with abandon. She remembered a little...and blushed a deeper red. She remembered his kiss, his passion. Then her mind blacked out...she couldn't recall anything else. Which was, perhaps, a blessing.

"Mind if Ah use your bathroom and git a shower?" Rogue asked, shyly. She felt vulnerable and exposed. Her heart beat quicker though she had no idea why.

"Feel free." He said, smiling at the young woman. "I don't mind.That's what a bathroom is for." Tom decided to handle the situation delicately.

Rogue came back, dressed in her jean shorts and a T-shirt. She sat down on the bed. Tom had taken the time to put on his clothes while she was in the bathroom. He wore a tanktop and jeans. Steel toed boots peered out from under the well worn jeans. It was clear to her by the way he moved...he was a brawler. Not a fancy-smancy martial artist, his fighting experience was more practical. No wasted movements from him.

"Do you remember anything last night? Do you remember how we met?" He asked, poking around in his trench coat for a bottle of hooch. He offered her the first sip and she accepted, handing it back to him, who finished it off.

"No. Ah don't. All's Ah remembah is a little bit of what happened when we came back here." She didn't quite meet his eyes; the young woman was embarrassed. "Tom..." "We'll talk about that later." The older man patted her hand. "You didn't seem drunk, or I wouldn't have..." He drifted off. They would discuss that later. Her lapse in memory was more important to explore.

"Ah can recall leavin' a mansion, flyin' to go somewhere. Ah ...don' know where though." Rogue's voice was tinted with frustration. "Ah don' recollect much other than mah name, and not even why Ah was at the mansion."

Was she a mutant? Tom thought. Well that explains... "Perhaps you were 'detained' between there and here?"

She looked at him with green eyes that were this side of heaven. "Maybe. Again, Ah ain' so sure of where to start lookin' even."

"Then we start by poking our nose where it isn't wanted, Rogue." He started resheathing his knives. She watched him for a moment, quiet and solemn.

"You don' mind followin' me around?" Rogue got up and moved around the room, her eye still on the big, ugly man.

He stood in front of her, as solid as a wall. Tom gently touched her porcelain skin, then withdrew his huge hand, which appeared to be callused with hard use. She could only guess at what the 'use' was. "You were the first woman who saw something other than this wreck. As you might have noticed, I'm not easy on the eyes."

"Ah don' like people cause of their appearances. Ah like 'em for the content of their character." Rogue said, in a voice soft as silk. "Now how about showin' me around this here town. Give me the lowdown."

Tom smiled. "Sure thing." He led her out of the room, down the stairs and onto the street. "Well, first of all, this town is named Basin City. Or you can call it by the nickname the locals give it. Sin City. There's three families struggling for control, now that the old regime is basically over. The Lyonnes'...they are pretty hoity-toity, but don't let their pretty facade deceive you. Then there's the Suvaris and their brood of ill-tempered brats. All seven of them are bad news."

He walked across the deserted street, littered with tattered newspapers and assorted colorful plastic wrappings. "Then...there's the Paynes. My family. Well, not really since I was conceived and born on the wrong side of the blanket. My old man's gone now, but my half brother is a piece of work. He don't like me and I return the feeling."


	2. Chapter 2

Rogue looked around at the town. A sense of foreboding poked her in the brain, something told her to watch her step. To keep the fact  
that she was nearly invulnerable close to her chest.

"This don't seem the type of town a sensible girl should find herself in." Rogue said, keeping up with his longer strides easily.

Tom said. "Nope. Here's hoping you aren't a sensible gal, then."

Rogue grinned. "Nope."

"I'm taking you to the Haven. It's a safe place where the underground folk go to ...do some business. Maybe if you're unlucky, you'll see  
Snake. If you're lucky, you'll meet Andrea." He pointed to the neon sign that said HAVEN.

"Let's go in, Tom." Rogue said brightly.

He opened the door and let her in. Tom found himself debating the wisdom of bringing her in. Her air of innocence would appear to  
make her an easy mark. He supposed he could always protect her, if worse came to worse.

She looked around, surprised at the decadence of the decor. The bar, she supposed it could be called, was in lavish swaths of color.  
Deep wine, purple, with a hint of gold. It wasn't gaudy, but it had the appearance of taste and sophistication that she wasn't  
experienced with.

"First thing you gotta know...is that this is a safe place. No one is to harm anyone here. However, that protection doesn't extent  
much past this bar. Since you're a new face, we'll want to be careful when we leave.

The patrons of the upscale bar were just as...colorful. She felt out of place as she watched people study her with interest. Rogue  
knew that these people were ...always looking for 'fresh meat.' So to speak. The young woman kept her back straight and remained  
friendly as he led them to a table. There were mutants here, and she recognized a few people that employed magick. Dark magick. And  
others...she had no clue about who they were.

"That man over there...well he's probably the most dangerous man here." Tom pointed to a fairly innocuous looking man. Slim and polite  
looking. "He's more than a killer. And he likes his women feisty. Watch your step. That's Snake--she's friendly but with no  
morals. She does what she feels when she feels like it."

"Reminds me of mah own step mom." She told him.

Rogue watched a mottled skin, skin that was like a snake's, woman ooze across the room. Not toward them, but her interest in Tom had  
increased also.

Tom watched Snake slither. "I guess it's your unlucky day."

"Oh, Ah wouldn't go that far. Ah've still in the presence of an interestin' person." She reached forward and touched his hand.  
Everyone in the room hesitated for a second and the intense interest was like a mild static shock. Palpable.

Tom looked shocked. He, too, was aware of the women glancing at him with a feral kind of sexual intrigue. They wanted to know why old and ugly Tom Payne was with a hot young woman.

Rogue just smiled and pulled away, but not very far from Tom. She knew the women wanted to find out about that 'side' of him now.  
But, more importantly, Rogue was an unknown But she kept one eye on the man that Tom pointed out was as slim as  
a switchblade and seemed to be as friendly. She watched him leave his seat and come directly over to their table, with none of the  
coquettish preamble that was Snake's stock-in-trade.

"Hello, Thomas. Would you care to introduce me to your lovely and charming companion?" His voice, cultured and calm, the tone alone  
told her in volumes that her friend was right to warn her. He wore an Armani and his dark hair was neatly brushed back. Each of his  
movements were concise.

"Sure thing. Rogue, this is Niles. Niles, meet Rogue."

She nodded her head at him. "Ah've heard so much about you."

Niles laughed. "I'm sure you have." At Tom's insistence, he sat near the big man.

"It's not that I don't trust you...Well maybe it is because I don't trust you." Tom grinned at him.

"So, Thomas, how long have you been back in good old Sin City?" Niles asked, waving a voluptuous waitress over. She had the 'Goth'  
look and her white breasts poured just slightly over the corset. She gave one of those kind of winks to Rogue, who blushed  
furiously. She'd never been hit on by a woman before.

"Oh...only a few days." He gave the waitress his order. A bottle ofwhiskey.

Then, Rogue ordered hers. "A bottle of Tequila. Don't worry, Ah can handle it fellas."

The waitress winked at Rogue again, leaning over so that Rogue got a good look at her goods before she walked away.

"Mr. Lyonne is trying to...undermine your brother's influence in..the Circle." Niles didn't want to say too much with Rogue  
around. He barely trusted himself, let alone an unknown.

"So? Why should I care about my brother? You know that John and I don't care for each other. He thinks that I'm going to take away  
his inheritance, but I don't want none of that kind of life. I like brawling and trying to get drunk. I like my simple life." Tom lit  
a cigarette and took a deep drag, letting the smoke take its time slipping past his lips.

Niles just sighed. "Your brother said you might say that. He told me to tell you that he expects you to honor what you promised your  
old man on his death bed."

It was Tom's turn to sigh. "If it's that bad, I'll stand by my brother." Tom only helped his brother if he needed it...NOT just  
when he wanted it. Tom didn't want to be drawn into the life of privilege and under his brother's thumb. No way, Jose.

"What about the lady?" Niles finally asked.

Tom looked over at him, as cool as an ice cube. "What about her? She does what she wants. How she wants. It isn't like she's my  
girlfriend, Niles, if that's what you're trying to get at."

"Yet." Rogue piped up, as she downed half the bottle to the mens' amazement. "Tom's a neat guy so far."

Niles smiled. The women here were going to go wild if they did end up going out. And they knew they had themselves to blame for  
judging Tom solelyon his...face. But they were the type of women that were cold and merciless...without a heart. Tom was better off not  
getting involved with the 'blade' sisters, as Niles called them in secret.

He turned his attention to Rogue. "Are you going to stay in Basin City?"

"Why not? Charmin' companionship...and well, Ah really don' remembah how Ah got here. So it's got me right curious 'bout that.  
Ah'm staying at least long enough to find out." Rogue made a satisfactory sigh as she drank the rest of the Tequila.

Tom got up and offered a hand to Rogue, assisting her up onto her feet. "It's what real gentlemen do."

"Thank ya." She said. "Maybe we'll see ya around, Niles."

She led the way through the mass of people. The surroundings--and people--brought to mind a garish masquerade. The people here  
were mercenaries, killers or worse. Rogue didn't particularly care for the dark decadence...these people were odd to say the least.

A trio of women just kept glaring balefully at Rogue. All of them looked lovely and cold as the moon's rays hitting a polished knife.  
Tom broke away from Rogue. Rogue didn't hear what Tom told them, but the ladies looked frightened. He towered over them and didn't hesitate to use his bulkfor emphasis. He offered her his arm and they stepped back out into the cooling air.

"I need to go see my brother." He was going to call a cab, but Rogue touched his arm.

"Why don't Ah just fly us there?" She took him by the hand and took to the air, not burdened in the least by Tom.


	3. Chapter 3

Tom was amazed by how different the town looked from here. He looked over at her and noticed how lovely she was with her hair  
blown back by the wind. He was more convinced than ever that she was special, someone that came into his life for a purpose. She was  
wild as the wind she 'rode', as untamed as the fire that coursed through their veins last night.

"Not too shabby. What else can you do?" He smiled at her. Tom pointed her to eastward. "Watch out for the white marble mansion  
with a gold statue of an angel on top. My brother's got delusions of grandeur. " He hoped John didn't come down with a fatal case of  
it, one of these fine days.

She winked at him. "Oh, Ah'm invulnerable and mah touch is lethal. If the touch is unauthorized." They approached the mansion and he  
slipped from her grasp. He landed on his feet, surprisingly graceful despite the impact.

Rogue landed near him and one quick glance told her Tom had no need of her help. She wondered if he were...a mutant like her. "Not a  
bad landin', Tom. If freefallin' were an Olympic event, Ah'd have to give ya a 4.5 outta 5."

Tom looked offended as he dusted off his trench coat. "Only a 4.5?"

"Yeah, your technique wasn't quite right. You wobbled just a tad, so Ah deducted for that" She told him in a tone that was meant to  
tease him. It worked.

He laughed as they walked up to the mansion. Tom knew that John already knew they were here...and they'd likely get greeted by hired  
goons once they arrived at the front door. Sure enough, as soon as he went to ring the doorbell, two huge men opened the heavy and  
ornate door.

Tom always thought the gargoyle knocker was pretentious and ugly. He was glad he didn't have to use it.

"Hello, Owen and Vinny. How's the life treatin' you?" He paused. "I see that Johnny boy finally came through on his promise to get you those Rolex watches. What do the thugs call it? Bling-bling?"

Owen and Vinny had about as much a sense of humor as a slug. "Who's the lady? A hooker you hired for the night? You know Mr. Payne doesn't like low class..."

All hell broke loose and a few seconds later, Tom stood over them, in various stages of 'hurt.' He had his foot on Vinny's neck and  
had his hand wrapped firmly around "Tell the lady that you're sorry for calling her a hooker. Go ahead, Owen."

He managed to croak out, "Sorry. I won't call you that again."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to play rough with the help?" The voice carried a low tone of astonished amusement.


End file.
